Medium and rare

“Considering one of the season’s star singers is a plus-size female impersonator, opera this fall is anything but a drag.” Our Own JJ lays down the law on the subject of autumnal opera attendance to his base audience of jaded roués and gay divorcées who lunch at the Ritz. [New York Post]

For a somewhat more detailed preview piece in Musical America today, JJ selected this opera as #3 of the top 20 American opera productions of the season:

The Tempest. Metropolitan Opera.
The Met’s audience has come a long way. Just ten years ago, 20th-century opera was box office poison; today, audiences clamor for Thomas Adès. With mesmerizing baritone Simon Keenlyside on board as Prospero, this company premiere is the high point of the fall season. (Oct. 23-Nov.17).